Services

Welcome to Tessmer Law Offices

When your liberty, livelihood, family or assets are on the line, think of Tessmer Law Offices. Our philosophy, 'When losing is not an option' really says it all. We are a small group of highly motivated and skilled lawyers who work with you to get the results you need. Whether the government is trying to take and keep your assets or whether they are trying to put you in jail, we do whatever it takes under our constitution to make sure that doesn't happen. We leave no stone unturned to fight your legal battles. Browse the site to meet the lawyers, hear about some of our battles, and get updates on important legal issues of our time. Or, join the dialogue on Twitter and check out our Facebook page. While no lawyer can guarantee a win in Court a wise person makes sure he has a skilled advocate by his side to ensure the best possible outcome.

Civil Forfeiture Law

This is the newest weapon in the British Columbia government’s arsenal to take your assets. Even if you don’t get charged with a crime, the police may seize your money, your valuables, and even your house, if they can prove that it was probably used for a criminal purpose. The Civil Forfeiture Act gives wide powers to the ‘Director’ of Civil Forfeiture to commence lawsuits against your property to lead to a forfeiture.

In a recent case where the police tried to seize our client’s home, we were able to get the case dropped because the police violated our client’s rights in the process of executing a search warrant for a marihuana grow operation. The law of civil forfeiture is evolving and in order to protect your assets, you need someone knowledgeable in this area.

If you have a legal issue you want a Civil Forfeiture lawyer to help with, ASK NOW!

Criminal Law

Criminal defence is our passion and we defend against charges of all kinds. If you are facing charges for assault, theft, impaired driving, drug-related offences, driving while prohibited, or any other crime, we can help.

Our criminal defence practice has successfully defended our client’s at all court levels in Canada including the British Columbia Provincial and Supreme Courts, the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

We are at the forefront of “cutting edge” law and our criminal defence lawyers keep apprised of new developments in both statute and the common law. We are constantly researching new laws and even have our own internal library filled with case precedents and authorities that we will rely on when we defend you. If you have a defence, we will find it and we will get you results.

We also understand that financing can be a concern for many people facing criminal charges. One thing clients often worry about when deciding whether to get a lawyer is the “hidden costs” that other firms may charge. You can put this concern aside when you come to Tessmer Law Offices as our criminal defence lawyers offer “flat-rate billing”. This means that the amount we quote you at the outset is the amount you’ll pay for our services when we resolve your matter. We also offer three highly capable criminal defence lawyers with varying experience; we surely have a lawyer who can suit your financial constraints and satisfy your legal needs.

To find out more information from one of our criminal defence lawyers, ASK NOW

Assault causing bodily harm charge judicially stayed

Last week, Judge Bowry judicially stayed the charge of Assault Causing Bodily Harm against one of our clients as a result of too long of a delay in bringing the matter to trial. The incident was alleged to have occured about 19 months ago, however charges were not laid for almost 5 months, so the actual total delay from the time charges were laid was only about 14.5 months. The cause of the long delay was not adequately explained by the Crown, as found by the Judge. Accordingly, she directed that the charges be stayed - which effectively means the Court has decided to prohibit the Crown from prosecuting the charge any further.